<5>THE BEAN (taken fromThe Complete Coffee Book, by Sara Perry)
Most plants first bloom, then bear fruit. The small, shrublike coffee tree does both at once, blooming with jasmine-scented flowers at the same time that it bears ripe and unripe fruit. This odd natural qirk makes growing coffe extremely labor intsve. On plantations where quality coffee is grown each picker must return to the smae tree several times a year to handpick only the ripe crimson berries.
Your coffe's rich, dark brew begins with two seed growing inside the coffee tree's fruit, or "cherry." Resembling a cranberry in size and shape, the cherry has a sweet pulp and two flat-sided seeds. These seed are protected by a silky-opaque covering, called the silverskin, and a parchment-like husk. (When only one round bean develops inside the cherry, it is called a peabarry.)
A healthy coffee tree produces five pounds of green beans a year, or about two thousand handpicked beans. Of these, perhaps four hundred beans are top quality, plucked over the course of a season with painstaking work. Compared to this, your purchase of a pound of coffee is a rather effortless taks.
Tolerant, easy to please, coffe trees grow in almost any soil, but thrive in areas rich with volcanic minerals. In the seventeenth cenuy, wild coffee trees from the highlands of Ethipia were transported to the tropics. Today they flourish as cultivated plants. The rainy season nurtures thr growth, the sun ripens their fruit, and their beans at these loweraltitudes mature in two to three months.
Although there are many species of coffee trees, only one produces exceptional coffee. Coffea arabica, which was first found growing in Yemen centuries ago is the sole species of quality beans. The most widely cultivated coffee plant, arabica thrives at higher altitudes, where its beans mature slowly and have time to develop body and density. At these higher altitudes, they may take six or seven months, but this slower rate of fruit maturation gives the beans more time to develop flavor. Slower-maturing, high-density arabica beans are referred to as hard beans.
Coffea robusta is the type you are most likely to drink when you folow instructions to "add hot water and stir." Discovered in Africa at the end of the nineteenth century,robusta is relatively new to the coffee industry, but its role is significant. Because of its hardiness, high yield, and ability to grow at lower altitudes, its beans are cheaper to produce. This makes them ideal for blending with arabicas and for use in instant coffee. For those who like caffine, robustas have twice as much kick as arabicas. Alas their favor tends to be harsh and pungent.
<5>PURE, UNBLENDED COFFEES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
BRAZIL: Over 30 percent of the world's coffee is produced in Brazil. Most is used in the production of canned and instant coffee. If you enjoy a mildly acidic, medium-bodied coffee, Bourbon Santos makes a fine brew.
COLUMBIA: Second to Brazil in worldwide production, Columbia's crop is all handpicked, washed arabica beans. Medellìn, Columbia's most famous coffee, sings with a rich, finely balanced flavor.
COSTA RICA: All of the beans from this Centeral American country are washed arabicas. Possessing a rich, full body, they tingle with acidity.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Over 80 percent of teh coffee grown here heads to the United States. Known as Santo Domingo, it is moderately acid, pleasant, without a pungent personality.
EQUADOR: Some of the highest-altitude coffee plantations in the world perch on the mountains of this South American country, but the coffee they pouce is indiffrent and most often used in blends
ETHIOPIA: According to legend, coffe's name came from the Ethiopian region of Kaffa. Ethiopian Harrar is one of the world's best-known, strongest-flavored coffee. Its rich, thick flavor caresses your tongue like a fine Burgundy.
GUATEMALA: The midland mountain regions of this Cneteral American country nurture aromatic, mellow-bodied coffees. Grown in the regions of Antigua and Coban, these beans have a smoky, acidic flavor that many people feel make the perfect cup of coffee.
HAITI: Frequently used in blends and dark roasts, the beans of this Caribbean country are very popular in Europe, where coffee drinkers appreciate a mellow taste that has a touch of sweetness.
HAWAII: This is the only place in the United States with an ideal climated for growing coffee. The Kona district boasts the highest yield per tree in the world and produces an aromatic, mellow-bodied coffee.
INDIA: Mysore is the most well known of the Indian coffees. It is a dark coffee, soft and delicate as a flower on the tongue.
INDONESIA: Named after the islands where they are grown, Sumatra, Celebes, and Java coffees are famous for their rich, spicy full-bodied flavor.
JAMACIA: Blue Mountain is like a beuatiful woman who is talked about everywhere but seldom seen. Aromatic, sweet, and extremely mellow, its seldom reaches the United States, as most of the crop goes to Japan.
KENYA: This African coffee has a delicate smoothness and winey aftertaste that is popular in both Great Britain and the United States.
MEXICO: The best-known coffees are the Coatepec, Pluma, and Oaxaca. With a full, acidic body and a fragrant aroma they are very popular for blending.
PERU: The Chanchamayo Valley is home to a subtly flavored, lightly acidic coffee.
TANZANIA: Rich and full-bodied, the arabica beans of this African nation are grown in mountainous areas. The best known flourish on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro.
VENEZUELA: Here, the coffee industry is declining due to the upwelling of petroleum interests. Mèrida is the light-bodied, sweet coffee from Maracaibo. It is often used in blends, but is excellent served pure.
YEMEN: Mocha, named after the ancient Arabian port of Moka on the Red Sea, is a fragrant, creamy brew with a rich almost chocolaty aftertaste. Shop carefully for this bean and be aware that genuine Mocha beans are rare.
Cafè Links
The Roast
Recipes: Drinks
Recipes: Food
Back to the Cafè
